MagicJack Call to Free Conference Call not Placed to 218-339-2500

Just trying to call in to a free conference call number from my MagicJack. Trying to call 218-339-2500. I’ve done it before. Get a recorded message that says to call 305-848-8888 (which appears to be a free conference call service controlled by MJ). So, I can’t call in to the original conference call…my phone call has been hijacked!

Get on a chat with MJ “customer support.” Here’s the chat log. I’m thinking I’m going to have to register a complaint with the FCC or something. I doubt I’ll ever get a return call on my problem. What do you think?

Please wait for a site operator to respond.

You are now chatting with ‘Garnet’

Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK419075471946X

Garnet: Hello, how may I help you?

Russell Wright: Why can’t I place a call to a conference call number? Magicjack hijacks my call and prevents me from dialing in.

Garnet: Hi Russell.

Garnet: May I know if you are the host of the conference call?

Russell Wright: No, I am not the host. I am just trying to dial in.

Garnet: I see.

Garnet: May I know if the host is a magicjack user?

Russell Wright: MagicJack seems to want to direct me to their “free service.” I’ve never had a phone call hijacked before.

Russell Wright: Have no idea if the host is a MagicJack user. How would I know?

Garnet: One moment please…

Garnet: May I know if you have tried joining a conferece call before?

Russell Wright: Yes, I have joined conference calls before. That’s part of my job. I get on conference calls all the time.

Garnet: You may use the access code for any future conference calls as well.

Russell Wright: Hold on! Have you answered my question? Why will my call I’m placing to a conference call not be completed? How do I make it work? I have no need for another number to call. I want my original call to go through as dialed.

Russell Wright: Are you a person or a machine? You just repeated the same thing without answering my question.

Russell Wright: How do I get my call to go through to the number (218) 339-2500? Can you answer that question?

Garnet: Yes, I am.

Garnet: May I know if you were able to hear the voice prompt?

Russell Wright: Only if you will answer my original question. How do I get my call to go through to the number 218-339-2500?

Garnet: One moment please…

Garnet: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.

Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.

You are now chatting with ‘Yvonne’

Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK419075471946X

Russell Wright: Yvonne–How do I get my call to go through to the number 218-339-2500?

Yvonne: Hello, I am Yvonne. I will be assisting you.

Yvonne: How are you, Russell?

Russell Wright: Not very good, thank you.

Yvonne: I can understand your frustration with the issue. I am here to help. Let me just make a clarification. YOu are trying to join a conference call on this mj phone number: 218-339-2500?

Russell Wright: For the past several months, I have used MJ to join conference calls for my work. Most of these conference calls are set up by others using a free conference call service not of my choosing. Today, when I tried to join a conference call using my MJ to dial in, I get an “Important announcement” message that Magic Jack cannot dial in to the call and re-directs to a magic jack conference call service. I am unable to join the conference call through this MJ service. Since I do not set up the conference calls, it is impossible for me to change the service used for the conference call and I am unable to use my MJ to join the conference as I used to be able to do.

Russell Wright: Yes, I am trying to join a conference call at that number.

Yvonne: Thank you for telling that to me.

Yvonne: I just escalate your issue to our engineers. Please rest assured that your problem is being looked into even as we chat. We appreciate your patience. I will mark it priority for the concerned department. We hope to resolve the problem as fast as possible. We will resolve this on our end. We will update you at your email address as soon as we have this issue resolved. Is the best email to contact you?

Yvonne: Contact Email Address xxxx@yyyy.com

Russell Wright: Yes, that email is fine.

Yvonne: Thank you for the confirmation.

Yvonne: We will work on this as fast as we can.

Yvonne: Thank you for your cooperation and patience. I really appreciate it. Would that be all for now, Russell?

Russell Wright: Yes, will you send me a record of our session?

Yvonne: Thank you for asking.

Yvonne: I am afraid I cannot send you our chat transcript. May I suggest that you copy and paste it and save that to MS Word document or to notepad.

Yvonne: .

Yvonne: Thank you for stopping by to chat, I hope I did a good job at addressing your concerns. Please take a second to answer a one question survey about the service I provided. Please click the “close” button on the top right of this screen and the survey will appear. Thanks again!

Yvonne: Have a great day to you and your family, Russell. Take care always :)

92 Responses to “MagicJack Call to Free Conference Call not Placed to 218-339-2500”

[…] I read a blog post by Russell, my magicJack pusher friend, about his recent problems (read MagicJack Call to Free Conference Call not Placed to 218-339-2500). In his post he provides the transcript of a chat session he had with magicJack customer service, […]

I just experienced the same frustration. I actually replaced my phone line with magic jack and am now beginning to regret it. I just tried to dial in to a work related conference call and magic jack kept referring me to their free conference number. I ended up calling in on my cell phone which was frustrating and uncomfortable. They should make this type of thing known before signing up. You can call any number EXCEPT other conference call companies.

I just had this same experience. How embarrassing. We have been using the same conference call provider for years at my company and now I have been trying to save money with Magic Jack, Now I am feeling cheated. I too am going to file a complaint with the FCC. I think everyone who ownes a magic jack should file a complaint with the FCC about this. Magic Jack should not limit our calls in the united states. Here is that link again to file a complaint against magic jack in the fcc. https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/new_complaints.action?request_locale=en

I have been using Magic Jack for over a year and doing Mary Kay conference calls every week until they changed something. I can’t enter the conference # without the recording redirecting me to set up my own call for a conference. Bad business I can’t use the phone so have to pay on another phone to dial in now!

[…] have been discovering the same thing, and MagicJack’s customer service response has been hopelessly inept. They just keep repeating that you need to use their own free conferencing service, and if you […]

I too am frustrated with this. I recently started a new job that requires long distance calling and conference calling. I specifically got magicJack for this reason and I gave up my landline phone. I will file a complaint but I wonder why they changed the conference calling. 2 weeks ago magicJack was a good idea. Today,…

Same thing is happening to me. I have had to have other employees dial me in for 2 weeks now. My MJ service has been horrible lately…I don’t expect perfection for the price but blocking calls to certain numbers is just wrong. I have used freeconference for months now without issue. So even if it’s legal…that doesn’t make it right…so glad I didn’t go for the 5 year deal. I’ll keep my mj for personal calls but may be going back to Vonage for my business calls. I was with them for 5 years with very few problems…but I probably should check to see if this is happening with them as well.

My guess is this – MagicJack probably used a conference service in the past, and switched providers, and so they redirect all calls to the old provider over to a canned message, thinking that you are trying to set up or join a MagicJack conference. They didn’t think about the possibility that you might be trying to join someone else’s conference! So it’s a well-intentioned (but erroneous) blockage.

Either that, or they are getting tons of fees from the other conference line, and so it’s a deliberate block.

I can duplicate this issue, simply by setting up a conference line with freeconference.com. freeconference gives me a conference number, which is blocked by magicJack!

I don’t usually comment on blogs but had to on yours. You have a very distinctive writing style. A lot of people don’t have that touch, they just drone on and on in the most boring way. But not you – thanks! Thanks again!

I purchased a magic jack precisely for conference calls as I live in India. Now after the purchas just as I am about to conference, I went through the same frustrating experience. If I had known earlier I would not have wasted money and gone through skype instead. I think they should mention in their ads that it wont work for conference calls.

Randy: Yes, Have your conference service provider or the person who invite you with his/her conference call to email us at connect2magicJack@magicJack.com.”

Pablo: Why can´t I call to (218) 339-2500

Randy: One moment please…

Randy: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.

Chat InformationPlease wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Evert’

Chat InformationYour Issue ID for this chat is LTK419084188907X

Evert: Hi, this is Evert, from higher level support and I will be assisting you

Pablo: hello

Pablo: I need to dial to (218) 339-2500

Pablo: to join a conference call

Pablo: But I can´t

Evert: Alright, I believe you want to Join a confenece call, right? I am sorry but you cannot call that number, magicjack does not support that number. However, you may create your won Conference call . first, create your free magicjack conference room number, – Dial 305-848-8888

Pablo: Magicjack hijacks my call and prevents me from dialing in

Evert: I am sorry but you cannot call that number, magicjack does not support that number. However, you may create your won Conference call . first, create your free magicjack conference room number, – Dial 305-848-8888

Pablo: I know I can create a conference room

Pablo: but I am not the host. I am just trying to dial in

Evert: yes, but again, you cannot join that conference room

Evert: It is not supported by magicjkack

Evert: You have to use 305-848-8888

Pablo: why?

Evert: magicjack does not support that, but you may call the moderator or the one who made the Conference call to use 305-848-8888

Evert: magicJack reserves the right to block calls to phone numbers that abuse its services. Any service provider who is currently being blocked may interconnect with magicjack for free so our customers may complete their calls. Have your conference service provider email us at connect2magicJack@magicJack.com

I have also used MJ for phone-in conference calls, but this morning my call was hijacked to MJfreeconference, so I was unable to contact my conference. Very frustrating. At least MJ should have told their customers that the rules were being changed.

Russ,
Not sure if you already gathered this,but these ‘free’ conference call websites exploit a federal rule that rural companies can charge more for calls terminating in their exchanges.

So long story short, some rural company is charging MJ for the calls being placed by using MJ. So MJ (and Google Voice too) are blocking some numbers that terminate in the rural exchanges. For the customer like yourself, there is no charge if you are within your cell phone plan minutes or using an unlimited minutes plan, but your phone company gets charged! Hence they block it.

Same story with me. Let’s get the word out all over the internet. Let us not be fooled by a child and cute puppies. Magicjack owes our money back, and an apology is clearly in order as well. I will follow up on the FCC

Aaargh the same thing just happened to me this morning. I too get on weekly conference calls and this is the first time I was not able to dial in. Not impressed at all! I will put a call into the FCC also.

I tried very hard to get an answer for the same issue. Here is the chat. You can see the frustration. I was not successful. We need to report this to the FCC.

I tried very hard to get an answer for the same issue. Here is the chat. You can see the frustration. I was not successful. We need to report this to the FCC.

Please wait for a site operator to respond.

You are now chatting with ‘Crissa’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK419086806106X

Crissa: Hello, how may I help you?

Crissa: Hi Pat.

Pat: Why can I not call this conference call number from my magicjack 218-339-4600

Crissa: Are you trying to join a conference call to non magicjack users?

Crissa: Are you still with me?

Pat: I am trying to join this conference call Why can I not call the conference call number from my magicjack 218-339-4600 I do not believe it is from magic jack but I am using my magicjack to make this call and it will not connect. Last week it said I could not reach this number from my magicjcak this week I get a message asking me to join a conference or set one up

Pat: I can not type as fast as you would like so be patient

Pat: Are you still with me?

Crissa: Please be inform that we have our own Free Conference Call Service that they you use.

Crissa: Yes I am.

Pat: Big deal

Pat: I still need to be able to join other calls

Crissa: magicJack reserves the right to block calls to phone numbers that abuse its services. Any service provider who is currently being blocked may interconnect with magicjack for free so our customers may complete their calls. Have your conference service provider email us at connect2magicJack@magicJack.com

Pat: what’s up with this stuff

Pat: I was not under the impression that magicjack was going to screen my call I should be allowed to call anyone I want to without your permission

Crissa: You can also create your own conference room.

Pat: This is not abuse

Crissa: Thank you for your patience. I will transfer you to a higher level of support. Please hold while I transfer you.

Pat: I am only using my phone service

Pat: I need to report magicjack for abuse to their customers

Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.

You are now chatting with ‘Nikki’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK419086806106X

Nikki: Hi there this is Nikki and I will be assisting you. Please give me a few moments to review your previous chat. Thank you!

Nikki: Just to clarify, you want to call a non magicjack conference number right?

Pat: This is so crazy I can not believe your service is doing this

Pat: No

Pat: I want to call 218-339-4600

Nikki: Is that a non magicjack conference number?

Pat: this is a conference number I have been using for over a year from a company I work for

Pat: that is a non magicjack conference number

Nikki: I see. I’m sorry but you can no longer call a conference numbers that’s a non magicjack provider. We have a new feature and it’s the reason why you can’t call those numbers anymore. Our new feature is about creating or being a host to your own conference and other providers can call you. This new settings goes out to all MJ users.

Nikki: Please read above

Pat: And how do you suppose I am suppose to do that

Nikki: Again, you can no longer call a non magicjack conference number. Only magicjack conference numbers. And if you want to create your own conference number so other providers can call you, please visit http://www.freemagicconference.com

Pat: Think about what you are telling me

Nikki: What?

Pat: It would be imposable to get the conference or other providers to call me I am not the host and I would not be able to get them to connect to me

Pat: Can you not understand this

Nikki: I’m sorry Pat but again, you can no longer call a non magicjack conference number using your magicjack. And I have stated the reasons above. Please try to understand what I’m saying and I perfectly understand your concern

Pat: a multimillion dollar company sets up a conference call and I am suppose to tell them they can not do that unless they use Magicjack. And if they do not I am suppose to tell them What?????????

Nikki: No. You’re not understanding my point. Please read carefully. If you’re trying to call a non magicjack conference number using your magicjack, that is impossible. You can’t do that anymore unless you call this number: 218-339-4600 using a different provider (not magicjack).

Pat: This service of yours can not work for me and I am no longer going to Tell my friends about Magic jack

Pat: there must be some agency I can report this monopoly attempt to

Nikki: Okay.

Pat: Ya okay I am saving this chat and I will be sending it the proper authorities

Nikki: Okay got that

Pat: Can you imagine if the regular phone providers attempted to monopolize like this

Nikki: Please visit the site again. Thank you

Pat: That site tells me nothing

Nikki: It’s how you create your own conference call. And that feature is the reason why you can’t call other non magicjack conference numbers

Pat: What feature

Nikki: The site that you have visted.

Pat: you mean to tell me a non magic number provider should not allow their customer to call a magicjack conference number because they provide that feature on their service?????

Pat: All the other providers should block majicjack numbers then

Nikki: No. Are you sure you understand what I’m saying?

Pat: Ya that’s the thing to do. Right????

Pat: Your telling me I can not call a conference number from my magicjack

Pat: you are blocking me

Nikki: You can’t call a NON MAGICJACK CONFERENCE NUMBER using your magicjack. But you can call other conference number that is a magicjack host. That’s what I’ve been telling you the whole time. Please try to understand

Pat: I need to call a NON MAGICJACK CONFERENCE NUMBER

Nikki: You can’t because of our new feature. Is this clear now?

Pat: I can not control the service other people use

Pat: Monopoly

Nikki: Please review our chat so you can understand the reasons why. Thank you

Pat: Is it not clear to you that the other providers then in turn should block magicjack conference numbers

Pat: Oh, you are being very difficult

Nikki: I’m sorry but you can no longer call a conference numbers that’s a non magicjack provider. We have a new feature and it’s the reason why you can’t call those numbers anymore. Our new feature is about creating or being a host to your own conference and other providers can call you. This new settings goes out to all MJ users.

Pat: I CAN NOT MAKE THEM USE YOUR SYSTEM HOW DO I DO THJAT? DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?

Nikki: You can call that number using a non magicjack phone.

Pat: So you are telling me to use a different service and not magicjack.

Nikki: If you want to call a non magicjack conference number

Pat: Can I get a refund then

Nikki: You can’t. Your 30 day trial is over

Pat: I want my money back

Nikki: You can’t. Your 30 day trial is over

Pat: Your service is over

Nikki: Okay

Pat: Okay

Pat: Are you shacking your head from left to right at the same time when you say okay

Nikki: Nope. I’m pretty cool here.

Pat: Not from My view point

Nikki: Oh. Okay. It’s your own opinion. I respect that.

Pat: Your doing a horrible job

Nikki: No I’m not.

Pat: I was a CSR for 8 years and have never talked to a customer like you

Nikki: Okay. It’s your own opinion. I respect that. But I’m just telling you the truth

Pat: You act like I am missing the point instead of acknowledging that this is a real problem

Nikki: Pat. I have explained everything. Read above and try to understand. It’s our new policy that you can’t call a non magicjack conference number using your magicjack

Pat: I can not connect to my companies conference call and they are not going to change their service to accommodate me. That is plane to understand. So this makes Magicjack a system that is just another expense. I still need my present phone service and I already have free long distance. So if I still have to keep that plan then what good does magicjack do me?? Explain that please.

Nikki: Yes you can’t tell them to change their service that’s why I asked you to call that number using a different phone (not magicjack) since you can’t call a non magicjack conference number using your MJ. Even if you don’t have a landline, your MJ will still work as long as you have an internet. You can disconnect your landline. The MJ can call US and Canada for free but it can’t call a non magicjack conference number only

Pat: Ya you refuse to acknowledge my concern. I need to call this number otherwise the service is no good to me. I have to be able to make a living.

Nikki: I’m sorry but again, you can’t call a non magicjack conference number using your MJ. I can’t do anything from my end since it’s our policy

Same goes for me. 218.844.8230 gets hijacked by MJ. They want me to go thru their service. Fine for me, but impossible for all the clients. Thanks a lot MJ. KInd of made a sucker out of me. I guess that’s probably amusing for you.

Same story with me today – could not join 2 different conference calls using MJ and had no problem doing it using my cell phone. Just finished chatting with MJ support. Funny thing it was also Garnet, just like in original post from Russell, what are the odds :). Anyway, the guy was simply avoiding answering direct questions, drove me nuts, all I could get out from him is that engineers are working on the problem and they will email me when it is completed. AWFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE – HATED EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF THAT CHAT.

UPDATE: Got some info from one of their customer support people. He claims that the onus is on the ‘other’ conference call provider to contact magicjack and ‘unblock’ themselves:

Gilbert: May I please have reason for your return ?

eric: doesn’t work as advertised eric: can’t use it for conference calls

Gilbert: You can use magicjack for conference calls

eric: not for non-magicjack conference calls

Gilbert: Yes, Even for non magicjack conference calls

eric: no

eric: i believe you are incorrect

Gilbert: I am correct Eric

eric: per another support person, it’s not possible. there is also a good deal of chatter about this on the web. if you can help me figure out how to do it, i’d be grateful. for instance, i’m trying to call a conference call number hosted by freeconferencecalls.com. the number is 555.555.5555. if you call this number, it redirects you to a magicjack conference room

Gilbert: It seems your conference provider is banned from magicjack . In order to join conference set up by that provider using magicjack you would need to contact the conference and ask him to contact us at connect2magicJack@magicJack.com

Gilbert: Once they will email us , they will be unblocked from our list and then you will be able to join their conference using magicjack

eric: interesting. so am I to contact the readytalk.com people, or the person who is hosting the conference call?

Gilbert: Please contact the readytalk.com people as they are the conference service provider

eric: so it’s them blocking it, not you?

Gilbert: We are blocking you to connect to their service

Gilbert: magicJack reserves the right to block calls to phone numbers that abuse its services. Any service provider who is currently being blocked may interconnect with magicjack for free so our customers may complete their calls. Have your conference service provider email us at connect2magicJack@magicJack.com

Contacted freeconferencecalls.com as directed by magicjack. Here is freeconferencecalls.com’s response:

Thank you for contacting Free Conference Call Eric. We apologize for your trouble using our service with Magic Jack. Magic Jack is blocking Free Conference Call and other conferencing service providers. We believe this to be an illegal act in violation of Federal Communication Commission rules, and we are pursuing legal remedies.

Magic Jack’s problem, as we see it, is that Magic Jack has promised unlimited long distance calling for a price of $19.95 per year. If you use your telephone too much, then it costs Magic Jack too much money to connect all of your telephone calls. Your use of conferencing services tends to keep you on the telephone for a prolonged amount of time. Consequently, Magic Jack has decided to limit your calling privileges, in direct contradiction to their advertised promise of providing unlimited long distance service.

Please contact our customer service department with your concerns, and depend on Free Conference Call for help in resolving this problem. We welcome your formal complaint, and will use your information to build a case with the Federal Communications Commission. We also recommend that you file a complaint with the federal and state agencies listed below.

We have made several attempts to contact Magic Jack via the email they have provided, with negative results, they are not connecting despite our attempts to reach them at the email they are distributing to their customers. At this time we strongly suggest filing a complaint with your local State Attorneys office. Please contact me for further assistance, have a wonderful day.

Also here is our blog site you may listen to our CEO talking of call blocking; you may also leave a comment.

218 charges a lot for incoming calls. That is why those companies are there. To suck money from phone calls. I never make conference calls, and I do not want to pay more so some people can make conference calls.

Keep MJ affordable. If you want to make expensive conference calls use your cell phone.

[…] charges for these type of calls were more than it could afford so it unilaterally decided to intercept the calls to these numbers and redirect them to their free conference call service. To hell with you if you were invited by someone to the conference call and have no control […]

Same problem. At this juncture I am using cell phone. have gone over minutes in two weeks. Expense. OUCH!!!!! I am with the rest about going on “anti-Magic Jack “campaign. FCC and FTC don’t seem to get too far either.
Monopolies get it their way. The only way to get their attention is for the “250,000 new people each month” to return them,all on the same day . (C.O.D !!!)
Pity really. Have had mine for almost 2 years

I have not been able to use my Magic Jack to dial into any conference calls. MJ says I should have a (3) digit pin number but mine is (5). i have also been told to call 305-848-8888, then I am told to call the number that I just called from.

I was a happy magicJack user until last evening, now I’m annoyed that this problem with third party conference calls wasn’t disclosed at the time I paid for my magicJack.

Details:
– I attempted to dial into a XYNGULAR conference call at 712-432-0075.
– Instead of reaching the conference call, I received a message directing me to call 305-848-8888 which is the number for the magicJack free conference service.
– Clearly, I didn’t want to reach 305-848-8888, I wanted to reach
712-432-0075.

magicJack is a tremendous value, but the inability to reach conference calls is a very significant flaw in their connectivity.

Ive been using MJ for a couple of years now and had no problem until now. Presently in Jamaica and attempted to connect to a company’s conference call for an interview in the US, this was scheduled for 10am this morning. Well as fate would have it I have lost this opportunity because of this problem that I’ve just stumbled upon. Had I known of this, I would have made an alternative arrangement.

I do agree with you all, it can and has had serious implecations. Having such a shortcoming is by itself bad but to not aggressively ensure that customers are apprised of this is even worse.

Same thing – I got magic jack – after 2 years of debating about it – (Thank God did not get rid of my home phone) but DID remove long distance, to use magic jack instead.

But same thing – I get on many conference calls for my company – so lately have been having to dial in via cell phone to be able to get in. UGH! (and yes – went over minutes) So now I can raise my minutes, or go back to unlimited long distance on my house phone.

That transcript looks exactly like the chat I just had. I think they are programmed to not answer simple questions. Realizing you get what you pay for! Cancelling magicjack as I can no longer work from home if I can’t call into weekly conference call. Already filed a complaint with FCC. Very simple and easy online form, everyone should do it. Tired of phone companies taking advantage.

Loved Magicjack until recently and kick myself for recommending it to so many people.

all these CHAT COPIES are frustrating…. Look people, there was a post a while back that explains whats going on. SOME COMPANY IS ABUSING SOME SORT OF SERVICE and its obviously negativly afftecting MJ. I noticed that all of these CONF CALL NUMBERS you guys are dialing into are TOLL numbers, none are 800 or 888 numbers that are being dialed. I work for a MULTI MILLION dollar company as well.. and we have 800 or 888 numbers setup for conf call users. FREE CALL for us and our customers… and I DOES WORK on my MJ phone. Call your TOLL conf call number from a LAN line or a CELL phone… see if there are EXTRA charges like long distance/or fee (like 900 numbers).. heck your phone company might be able to tell you that as well. In short, tell your big company to get real and pass out 800/888 conf call numbers.

Here’s the thing: for some providers MJ is probably blocking them just for the heck of it, or because they’re the same providers who screwed MagicJack in the first place, but…

…IT COSTS ON THE ORDER OF 20¢ PER MINUTE FOR MJ TO MAKE THOSE CALLS!

Sorry about shouting, but if you have one MagicJack user calling into a 218-339 or other similar conference call number, and they stay on the phone for a 45-minute conference call, MagicJack has just given half that person’s yearly fee to the other provider in interconnection fees. BIG money loser there.

When you get past the marketing-speak from FreeConferenceCall and the like (and they are just as programmed as magicJack is) you find out that FreeConferenceCall et al are trying to game the system, and MagicJack is having none of it. What the FreeConferenceCall folks are saying, if you read between the lines, is “MagicJack is offering phone service at $19.95 per year, and that’s unsustainable if they want to be able to have their customers connect to our conference call numbers. We like our money pot so we’ll blame it on them, and hope we don’t get sued by a big communications company like Qwest for scamming the telcos. In the meanwhile, MagicJack should raise its service price by $10 or $20 per year per customer so they can afford to call in to our cunference call lines and pay us that $10 or $20 right back.”

I’m dead serious, that’s the conference call companies’ logic.

To be fair, MagicJack also blocks rural telephone numbers that cost them five-plus cents per minute to connect, no matter what kinds of agreements they can come to. That doesn’t mean ALL rural telcos are blocked, only some. The two rural telcos in my area (HCTC and GVTC) are perfectly accessible from MagicJack. BPS Telephone Company and Paul Bunyan Telephone Cooperative on the other hand are not.

In case anyone’s wondering, MagicJack doesn’t charge absurd rates to connect into its own conference call number, so they aren’t exactly throwing stones in a glass house. They DO make money from their interconnection fees…as much as a penny a minute I’m guessing…but that’s a far cry from twenty cents per minute, isn’t it? :)

There *are* other VoIP providers out there, and you can get them to do pay-as-you-go minutes too. VoIP.ms comes to mind. Not sure if they support these conference call numbers, but if you shop around then you should either find someone who can connect you to these numbers…or find that cheap VoIP doesn’t go hand in hand with expensive interconnect fees for “free” conference call services.

I don’t have a problem with a company charging for a service IF, and only IF, they are very upfront about it. I have re-read the terms of service (which, by the way, are NOT referenced on their home page) and have found these paragraphs where I would expect to find a disclosure:

3.b) Outgoing Calls:

Once you have registered your magicJack device you have agreed to these Terms of Service. You may now elect to choose the feature allowing you to make free outgoing calls over the Internet. You can make free calls to other magicJack device users located anywhere in the world, and to subscribers on traditional telephone networks or wireless networks in the United States. You will not have the ability to call any number that would require the addition of any charges to your phone bill, such as 900 or 976 numbers or any other “fee per call” type service.

4. What Is Free and What is Not:
The magicJack device allows you to receive for free incoming calls using the phone number you have chosen. If you choose outgoing service, the magicJack device allows you to make free outgoing calls to other magicJack device users located anywhere in the world, and the subscribers on traditional telephone networks or cellular networks in the United States. We may provide for a fee, premium prepaid services, which may be powered by YMAX Communications Corp. (“YMAX”), including inbound calling, International Calling and Conferencing services and the rates for those services will be governed by listed price lists or tariffs. magicJack may make available to you, for an additional fee, enhanced versions of the magicJack Software (“Upgraded Software”) which provide new features and functions.

6. Proper Use [excerpt]
… magicJack reserves the right to block calls to numbers that abuse its services such as, but not limited to, traffic stimulation numbers. If magicJack sees excessive use, including but not limited to, a customer whose usage is twenty (20) times more than the average magicJack’s customer’s usage, or a customer who calls more than 50 different telephone numbers per day, or systematic or intentional misuse, it reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate your use of the magicJack device and/or Software immediately, and you will not be entitled to get a refund of any licensing fee or any other fee you may have paid to us. …

I have also searched their “Frequently Asked Questions” and haven’t been able to find a topic on “reasons we block calls” or something along those lines. If you have, please post it so others can read it.

While I appreciate the MJ service, I feel they are obviously trying to hide some of the limitations of their service (of course when I signed up, this wasn’t a limitation…it was imposed at a later date). Why can’t they write a very simple FAQ that explains this or include it in their Terms of Service? Why can’t they explain why they host their own conference calling services and the alternatives? They are afraid they will lose sales if people know they can’t really use this for a simple business purpose.

At the very least, MagicJack should have communicated to all its customers when they implemented this change. I was a customer when this change was made. They didn’t.

Hi. I just tried connecting to a conference call with MJ and it would not connect. I signed up for an account with Google voice http://www.google.com/voice and used my MJ number as my main number. By typing the conference number into Google voice, it called my MJ and connected me to the conference. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much!!! I really don’t understand how this works, but I’ll take it. Save me a lot of headache with this blocking conference call. I am mad with MJ, but don’t have time and energy to go after them anymore. Use it or throw it away, I guess.

“You will not have the ability to call any number that would require the addition of any charges to your phone bill, such as 900 or 976 numbers or any other “fee per call” type service.”

I suspect they’re leaning on that. A conference-calling service that charges Magic Jack 20 cents per minute would probably count as a “number that would require the addition of any charges to your phone bill,” as far as they’re concerned.

That said, I’m not happy either. I just missed my first conference because of this nonsense.

(By the way, I don’t think “Garnet” was giving you the runaround. I suspect a half-trained typist who’s been given a bunch of canned “answers” and just pushes the right button when he/she sees certain words. I got a few of those non-sequiturs “chatting” with one a few weeks ago about a different problem.)

I know what you’re saying, but most of these numbers are about “termination fees” and are not normally “fee per call” type services. I think they missed these in their business plan and are now seeing the effects.

Just so the rest of you know, I had MJ for a couple years. I use to be able to place the conf. calls until they ended that. I had signed up with MJ the last 2 years, then this year I wasn’t even given a chance. I received a credit card charge that they just went ahead and signed me up for another year on their own. Does anyone suggest anything for me to do? And when we close out do we send our connection piece back to them?

One of the main reasons that I got my Magic Jack was so that I could get in on training conference calls for my new business. What is Magic Jack’s problem? I have limited shared minutes on my cell phone so I don’t want to use it for conference calls. I thought that you could call anywhere in the United States for free with a Magic Jack. Why can’t you call into a conference call that is in the United States. This is so frustrating! What can we do to get Magic Jack to let us call into a conference call? I don’t want to host a conference call – I just want to call into my training conference calls hosted by other people.

I just had a live chat with a lady named Hannah at Magic Jack. I told her of my frustration of not being able to call into my training conference calls. She said that in order for me to call into the conference calls I had to have the person who was hosting the conference calls to email Magic Jack at: connect2magicjack@magicjack.com and request for an unblock to be put on my Magic Jack phone number. I sent out an email to be forwarded to all the hosts of my conference calls. I will let you know if it works. But, Hannah seemed very confident that it would.

The change in conference calling is probably part of the recent “upgrade” to magicjack a few months ago. During the upgrade, my phone list was deleted and had to be recreated manually one at a time. But what really pissed me off was the change of font color in the phone list from basic black to light green, making the list extremely difficult to read. I contacted MagicJack’s online chat to complain and got the same robotic run around. I finally was forwarded to a supervisor and let them know that if the change in font color was a permanent revision, I WOULD NOT BE RENEWING MAGICJACK when my present account expired. A couple of weeks later, the font color was changed to dark green bold, making it easy to read and once more acceptable.

Russell is right to file a complaint with FTC, but he should also let magicjack know that he will NOT BE RENEWING HIS ACCOUNT if the change in conference calling is permanent.

Just imagine if magicjack got hundreds of users threatening to not renew their accounts if a conference call change is permanent.

MJ gets very cheap long distance from a company that would charge MJ extra if the call lands in certain small phone companies that have high rates for delivering incoming long distance calls.

Conferencing companies set up in these areas to drive traffic there and then split the incoming call money with the little phone company.

The long distance carriers get fed up with paying 10-20 times the usual rates to have the local phone company deliver the call the rest of the way, like 500 feet to the building next door. So the cheap carrier wants to pass on the rapacious charges to MJ because the carrier’s rates aren’t high enough to cover them.

MJ doesn’t charge enough to cover them either, doesn’t want to be a real phone carrier, and simply shuts down access to those numbers.

MJ buys cheap, you buy cheap, and you all get cheap. And most of the time it’s worth it.

Well I do understand the frustration with MJ for not wanting to give at least a partial refund to those that have bought this for this as their main goal. But, MJ is doing what is must to continue to provide this service for a small fee.
And after all, for most of us the out of pocket is what you spent at a bar for a couple of drinks or a night out for pizza. So get over yourselves and understand that Freeconferencecall is obviously gaming the system to get people to use their service and suck off the telcos. So tell the people that set up your conference calls to use legit services and get on with life.

I have just experienced the exact same thing. I have several conference calls to call into each week and thought this would be an economical way to do it, but have been unable to join any calls, because MajicJack always redirects my call to their recording to their conference calling which is of no use to me. It is totally ridiculous. I will have to use Skype I guess.

Any “free” conference calling service in the 218 area code is absolutely a “traffic pumping” scheme. (Look it up on wikipedia.) This is when the conference call service provider, and the local (always rural) phone company greedily split MAJOR profit by using an exploit (loophole) in the “telecommunications act of 1996″. The long distance provider is the first victim in this scheme, but they pass the cost on back to their customers on other fees. The rate you are paying for MAGIC JACK is $20.00 a year. They won’t let you call those numbers, as they have no other source of income except for OTHER $20 customers, in which they have the same problem of paying for those free conference calls.

The company you work for is unwittingly contributing to “traffic pumping” by using these “free” conference calling services. It is very much like helping the conference calling service “steal” by taking a pay off. If your company really understood how unethical the whole scheme was, they’d probably not do it.

I think the main point most are trying to make is that MJ is falsely advertising its service. Most people are not used to a company hijacking their calls or arbitrarily ending them. MJ is a toy…nothing more, and is not to be used as a serious part of a business.That’s what I’ve learned. I will certainly not renew and only recommmend MJ with many disclaimers.

I, too, was disappointed I couldn’t use my magicJack. OH, BOY, I thought, two of us (another person present so we could use the speaker phone and not have to pay for our conference call) can use this set-up and not pay anything for a 2-hour conference call.

However, when you analyze the entire problem between MJ and the conference call companies and consider what is really just, none of us would want to exploit MJ or any company unjustly, would we? At least not when we understand the burden it would place on MJ.

I think Ian L, above, August 20, 2010 and Chris Sotak, immediately above, Jan 18, 2011 are very competent and succinct in explaining the problem for us. MJ is facing an escalating situation that was perhaps not anticipated when they began to offer their services for normal or regular phone usage. As the conference call demands escalate, not only for businessess, but for all kinds of health and emotional well being programs, the profit for MJ company, who provides us long distance for a pittance, is in jeopardy.

As we carefully ponder the situation confronting us in regard to participating in conference calls more and more, we might ask ourselves how much do we want to join in the greed and exploitation that is so prevelant in our present day society. What percent of greed do we wish to partake of each day? 20%? 50%?

IF we don’t want to do that, then we have to figure out the least painful way to take the personal financial responsibilty for something that we benefit from, either businesswise or healthwise. I only really began to understand the extent of this problem of conference calls when I read the entire series of complaints. It helped me understand why I was angry and also the extent of the financial complexity that MJ faces. This helped me accept the situation in what I consider a more realistic light.

. When I hear someone say that they have numerous conference calls each week because of their business and are unhappy with the magicJack company, it sounds to me like those people are angry because they now have to figure out another way to get a free call for hours at at time. I was, at one point blinded by that anger, but now I “see.”

After this whole situation has panned out, I have to agree. MJ was placed in a situation for which it didn’t plan. However, their early responses to their customers was very poor (and poorly thought out, as well). Personally, I’m okay with paying a little more and getting a little more. I now use my MJ for traveling and use a NetTalk device for a more permanent line.

magicJack is redirecting my conference calls to their own NEW service of conference calls! When you talk to mJ they tell you to tell 300 people in the conference to switch to their service! This is nothing short of a fraud in my opinion! I used to be able to call any # in the U.S. or Canada! Now they sucked all us customers in, they’re changing the game & picking to Block whatever # they choose to! Totally wrong in my opinion! When you advertise to Public you can call ANYWHERE, How is it magicJack can decide to BLOCK you from being able to call certain numbers? Keep in mind the numbers are U.S. & Canada based numbers! It’s not like I am trying to call outside North America! I’ve noticed tons of complaints regarding this very issue by others magicJack for their phone! DO YOUR JOB FCC! MAKE magicJack provide the Service We’ve ALL PAID FOR unbiased! Now they chose to become bias in order to promote their own conferencing service! NOT the way ANY Company should be allowed to do business!

Well……it’s like this, If I go out and bid a deck you want built or a house & it cost me more then I quoted & contracted it to you for….who eats the bullet for it?
I DO! Suck it up magicJack! I say it’s ALL these communist Corporate greedy companies such as one post mentioned AT&T then you got AOL and all the many Monopoly owned ISPs! That’s where the biggest chunks of profits are being swindled from IMHO!

I bought MagicjackPlus yesterday since trying to use in India to join the conference calls at USA for work purpose. Today I try to use but MJ redirected to use 305-848-8888 and asked to registe. Unfortunately I registered my conference number also with PIN. But it didn’t connect to the conference. I am totally frustrated. Now I joined via cellphone even lot of minutes getting wasted and it become international charge also. So worst service and can I return the Magicjack…

I recently purchased a Magic Jack Plus. All has gone well until I tried to dial into a meeting hosted by FreeConfernceCall.com. Unlike the others posting here I did not receive a message; instead I received a busy signal, that was confusing. So I eventually used my landline to connect to the meeting. Now I will not replace land line and this makes Magic Jack much less useful than expected.

I have a problem dialing into a free conference calling service 641-715-3840. In talking to Magic Jack they keep asking me to identify the service as to whether they were using Magic Jack. I suppose this was a way to get into using the Magic Jack free conference service. I ended up using my cell phone for the conference call. In December 2011 it did work so it probably was blocked after that call. I have investigated and we all may want to explore switching to Nettalk which works the same way as Magic Jack Plus but does not appear to have this problem. The price per year is identical to Magic Jack plus new annual rate of $ 29.95 per year. Also Nettalk now is offering number porting to their system for a small fee. They also have live technical support with out a chat room. They are sold by Sears, Best Buy, Walmart and many others.

I Couldn’t call a “platform number” today which I have always called and now it won’t work., SO MAD….And your all right…..it’s false advertisement. Can we sue for False advertisement? This is BS! They just want more money because the recording directs me to buy pre-paid minutes!!!!! I already have paid for phone service why do I need more???

I have been duped by Magic Jack. I believe the FCC should get them on false advertising, or MJ should advertise that you cannot call conference lines that are non MJ conference lines. I’m definitely exploring my options after my year is up. Customers have to make a stand and a statement where these matters are concern.

I’ve been reading this for over an hour. IF MJ had been up-front (something MJ refuses to do) and explained their “REAL” reasons for changing service, we all could understand, and maybe even support them in their decision.

Having been to their website numerous times and finding virtually no information on anything, I still do not have a MJ. They are up-front about nothing, other than stating the names of some kids dogs with an AUTO-RUN VIDEO I DON’T WISH TO SEE.

Only a computerized automated service is made available to place an order, no human available. They refuse to disclose what you will pay for the unit, should you elect to keep it; much less what the shipping charges might be.

You don’t know how glad I am NOT to be owned by a MJ product. Hard enough dealing with friends who are. MJ has a lot more challenges than blocking free conference calling.

My message to MJ? Be up-front. Disclose the truth. Stop saying what you THINK people want to hear.

Same problem as above, but my company uses AT&T conferencing services in the 602 area code (Phoenix) which is definitely not rural and definitely not FREE! Also, they are not blocking the toll-free number, just the local number. So, as long as someone else is footing the bill, MJ has no problem routing the call. Glad I only renewed for one year, not 5, since this is my primary use of the MJ.

I got MJ about a year ago. I kept my home phone as I tried it out. I forwared my home phone to MJ. On about day 35 I tried to call a fortune 25 company hosted conf bridge. They were blocking that as well. This is a 512 area code and a number that I can call from my time warner home phone but not from MJ. I unforward the home phone and let the MJ unit sit. Wasted my $ and of course they would not refund my money.

I’ve had Magic Jack for four or five years and loved it. I’d consider myself a light user, probably two or three hours a month on conference calls while working from home. I’ve convinced four or five of my coworkers to get MJs for themselves in similar circumstances.

I got blocked from my company’s conference call number for the first time tonight – confusing, inconvenient, and embarrassing. I chatted unproductively with the radiant “Garnet” customer service person at MJ. They might well be getting screwed by opportunistic ILECs but I won’t be renewing the device in November.

The thinking works like this: it is obnoxious and unnecessary to pay a fee for these calls. If that’s on the table, I’ll first use my cellphone or my home landline for no additional fee. Or I’ll pay Google Voice, which charges me nothing up front. Paying an additional fee to MagicJack just does not make sense.

If MJ wants help in changing the law that lets the ILECs get away with this they need to be a lot more straightforward about what is going on and what we as users can do about it.

Also feel duped. Didn’t know this would be a restriction on my ability to conduct business from home. It is a fundamental problem. I too would not have opted into 6 years of this service had I known of this restriction. Not sure what I am going to do next, but I feel ripped off.

I (fortunately) found out about this SNAFU before i bought the thing. Here is the chat i just had:

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with ‘Emma’
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK554084035397X
Emma: Hello, how may I help you?
will: I am thinking about getting MJ, but I heard that I cannot call into my company’s conference call for free. Is this still true?
Emma: Yes, that is true. You need to have Prepaid minutes for your to be able to join the conference calling.
will: OK, thank you. I will not be going with MJ, then. Please send me an email when you change your terms of service.
Emma: Is there anything else I may help you with today?
will: no, thank you.
Emma: You’re welcome.
Emma: To be eligible for your reward, please click here. Your reward instructions will be emailed to you. Thanks again!

Filed a new complaint, I work for a FEMA supplier and we were joining the NE Winter Storm Planning call and were blocked from that, for years I have used MJ so I have the same number with me while traveling and during disaster response. FCC Comp 12-C00446383

I’m having the same problem with 1 of 4 of ALL of my calls. The MJ online chat person that did not speak good english told me that these numbers cost extra and kept giving me the link to purchase more prepaid minutes. THIS IS NOT TRUE. these were public, residential numbers. Only two possibilities. Either we’re being scammed or MJ is not as good of a product as we were lead to believe since it costs more than advertised to make regular calls.

I just want to add that I have been thrilled with MJ for a year up until just a few months ago when this started. Too bad. There was finally a good product that was inexpensive right when we needed it the most.